Naughty in Nice

In Nice to recover the Queen's stolen snuff box, Lady Georgiana Rannoch participates in a Coco Chanel fashion show where a necklace also belonging to the Queen goes missing, forcing her to search for both priceless items and solve a murder.

Summary:In Nice to recover the Queen's stolen snuff box, Lady Georgiana Rannoch participates in a Coco Chanel fashion show where a necklace also belonging to the Queen goes missing, forcing her to search for both priceless items and solve a murder.

This series is such a fun read, somehow not becoming frustrating despite the fact that Georgie's personal life often gives the impression of having had the reset button hit at the beginning of each installment. Bowen is smart to keep changing the setting--we've been in London, Scotland, Transylvania, and now the South of France--and while it of course is absurd that the same cast of supporting characters manages to show up in whatever far-flung locale Georgie finds herself in, you're having too much fun reading about her adventures to complain. Fun, fluffy escapism (in the best possible way).

This writer is dependably funny, witty and interesting. She writes light mysteries which in some respects are reminiscent of Wodehouse, in terms of the characters, and the convoluted plot-lines. When you need a nice, light read that will entertain, she's a good one to pick up.

I enjoyed once again looking in on the "royals" & how they act away from home! The story was entaining but I thought it was a little long. I do like the main characters that are woven into every story especially the grandad!

I enjoy this author's books, but this series just nudges my limits. So I was hesitant about this one, because of the title. Not to fear, Georgie got into plenty of scrapes, but it was a surprising number of others who turned out to be the "bad guys", including people who seemed to be "good guys. It wasn't until I was finished the book that I realized how very many angry people were in the story. That's the way I like it; no endless paragraphs about their anger.

Summary

In the fifth installment of the adventures of Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie daughter of the second Duke of Glen Garry and Rannoch and thirty-fourth in line to the throne of England - Georgie for short - we find the intrepid near-royal feeling very sorry for herself as all her not-nearly-as-poor friends are off to spend the winter in the south of France. Being impoverished during a depression is tough. Being an impoverished near-royal during a depression is even harder, believe it or not, when one has never been trained in anything useful (knowing which is the shrimp fork doesn't count) and one can hardly ask one's cousin the Queen for a loan. But if it's one thing Georgie does have, it's gumption, which has led Queen Mary to call upon her from time to time to help avoid some royal scandals. This time the Queen comes to Georgie's rescue - instead of being banished to the cold ancestral home in the north of Scotland (because her nasty and selfish sister-in-law Fig refuses to invite her to France), Georgie's way will be paid for by the Queen - if she will undertake a small commission or two for her. First, retrieve a stolen snuffbox from a suspected thief and second, keep an eye on her cousin Edward and that upstart woman of his, Wallis Simpson. That is not all that happens to Georgie in Nice, however. She reconnects with her lovely actress mother, comes to the attention of Coco Chanel who insists Georgie be a model for her latest collection, and catches the eye of a certain roguish Marquis - much to the consternation of a certain Irish peer who has long been Georgie's fascination. Of course, this is Georgie we're talking about. The snuff-box thief turns up dead with Georgie as prime suspect. While walking the catwalk she promptly trips, falls into the lap of a Russian princess and in the ensuing confusion Queen Mary's borrowed ruby necklace is stolen. What else could happen? Well, that Irish peer could turn up with what looks like a secret wife and son, and there seems to be a Georgie doppelganger skulking around the south of France, wreaking havoc for her. If this is starting to sound like a tissue-drenching melodrama, take heart - Georgie is a clever, winsome heroine, the dialogue is quick with banter and the 1930's setting is dripping with atmosphere. One could almost call it a cozy mystery, except it has far too much spirit. For fans of the Phrynne Fisher and Maisie Dobbs series.